Swierczynski’s opening arc on “Cable” has served as a fitting epilogue to the increasingly distant Messiah Complex crossover, telling readers exactly what Cable did after escaping into the future with his charge, and what became of Bishop in his attempt to track the baby down. In issue #6, the series takes a one-issue break from Cable’s flight to show how Cyclops, Cable’s father, is reacting to his decision to entrust Cable with the child.

Understandably, Cyke is a little worried that he hasn’t heard any word from Cable in the weeks since the final battle on Muir Island. After all, the fact that there’s time-travel involved should’ve allowed word from Cable to reach back almost instantly if things were going well. Scott finds himself plagued with the kind of self-doubt that typified the character for most of his lifespan, brilliantly reconciling the new, more confident Cyclops with the more tentative person he was as a child. Meanwhile, Scott attempts to present a self-assured aura to Emma despite his inner turmoil.

Cyclops is an appropriate choice for the supporting cast of a Cable title — despite the Cyclops/Cable relationship being well-established for a number of years, very little has been done with it besides the odd scene here and there. Likewise, the Messiah Baby situation obviously parallels the time Cyclops was forced to give the infant Nathan up to the Askani, so it’s natural that he would once again find himself reflecting on whether the decision was the correct one.

Unfortunately, the book’s logo doesn’t say “Cyclops.” It says “Cable”. This would’ve made a great issue of “Uncanny X-Men”, but as a “Cable” comic it’s something of a double-edged sword; it’s easily the best issue in the series by a fair amount, but it achieves this without any concrete use of the title character.

Lacombe’s guest art brilliantly fits the tone of the Cyclops scenes in the present, and Olivetti’s depiction of Cable sets it apart nicely, with a grim yet ethereal air to it. Cable is by no means a poor title, but with the “Messiah Complex” boost now wearing off, it feels a little as if Swierczynski has yet to find a hook the convince readers to stick around.

Now that the first arc is truly complete, the “Messiah Complex” epilogue is over and the series worryingly provides a perfect jumping-off point. The ongoing mystery of the baby’s identity is clearly not going to be definitively resolved for a while, and there aren’t many other plot threads for readers to focus on, unless you’re waiting for the Bishop/Cable rematch. If that’s the only ongoing thread, it’s not necessarily going to keep people around for long.